Use of different cooking grates?

ERC393

My new large BGE came with a stainless steel cooking grate. A cast iron cooking grate is also available for purchase, and BGE seems to indicate that it is good for "searing steaks". I've also seen in a cookbook that a porcelain grate is preferred for some recipes. My question is:  Other than for the obvious need of a cast iron grate for good steak searing, what are the SS, cast iron, and porcelain grates best for, and which are worth having? Thanks.

nolaegghead

I find the SS grate more than adequate for anything you need a grate for.  The porcelain grate will rust and flake, worthless in my opinion.  Cast iron is great if you want pretty grill marks, although they are brittle and will crack if dropped or heated/cooled unevenly.  They will not last as long as SS.  If you're interested in searing, nothing beats a CI or carbon steel pan.  And a good technique.  I am not interested in a CI grate at all.  Consider MANGRATES for the pretty marks.  It is the Three Wolf Moon accessory in the grilling world.

paqman

nolaegghead said:

I find the SS grate more than adequate for anything you need a grate for.  The porcelain grate will rust and flake, worthless in my opinion.  Cast iron is great if you want pretty grill marks, although they are brittle and will crack if dropped or heated/cooled unevenly.  They will not last as long as SS.  If you're interested in searing, nothing beats a CI or carbon steel pan.  And a good technique.  I am not interested in a CI grate at all.  Consider MANGRATES for the pretty marks.  It is the Three Wolf Moon accessory in the grilling world.

+1 on the mangrates, I hear they work even better when used with a matching t-shirt

Theophan

My BGEs came with porcelain grates, and as @nolaegghead said, they've eventually rusted.  I'd much rather have stainless grates.

I completely don't get the point of grill marks, so a CI grate would be a silly purchase for me.  Lots of people seem to feel like having nice, crisscrossed stripes on their steaks somehow puts the seal on a great steak.  If you do, think about buying one.

For me, I'd say you already have the best kind.  No need to waste your money on anything else.

Legume

I bought a ci grid when I bought a woo for my XL for grilling down low because I needed a different size grid, but I still use my ci pan to finish steaks when I want a nice crust.  Other than that, I'll replace my standard SS grid with SS again when it gives up the ghost.

C130

I bought the cast iron grate because I had been thinking about buying it and I was able to get it 20% off. I suppose it has a purpose but honestly I probably wouldn't buy it again, definitely not unless it was on sale.  I've done steaks on it and then wondered what the big deal was with the grill marks. Looks cool I guess. 

HeavyG

Theophan said:

My BGEs came with porcelain grates, and as @nolaegghead said, they've eventually rusted.  I'd much rather have stainless grates.

I completely don't get the point of grill marks, so a CI grate would be a silly purchase for me.  Lots of people seem to feel like having nice, crisscrossed stripes on their steaks somehow puts the seal on a great steak.  If you do, think about buying one.

For me, I'd say you already have the best kind.  No need to waste your money on anything else.

Grill marks are like smoke rings - decades of precedent have conditioned many folks to believe that "properly cooked" meat has to have them.

Lot of myths (e.g. "searing seals in juices") persist in the grilling/bbq/smoking realm.

GregW

I have a large that I bought a CI grate for. It was a poor choice. The CI grate quickly became a rust bucket. High temp cooks keeps the seasoning burned off and rust quickly takes over. I'm sure oiling it down after each cook would go a long way to keeping it in good shape. My CI grate is free to anyone in the area that wants it.

Dredger

Stainless steel is the best. We use it most of the time. If you want grill marks, go with Mangrates or Grill Grates. We have Grill Grates and it's great for both grill marks and preventing flare ups. Not sure about the Mangrates since we don't have them, but they look nice too.

jtcBoynton

ERC393 said:

...
My question is:  Other than for the obvious need of a cast iron grate for good steak searing, ...

Myth.  Cast iron grates are not the best for searing steaks.  You are better off using a flat cast iron surface (pan or flat griddle), an open wire grate (ss like the OEM grate), or directly on the lump (caveman).  Cast iron grates leave a lot of low flavor gray steak behind.  The other methods can get you a more extensive covering of the favorable sear.

Focker

Have had them all, and I prefer the CI(Mangrates).  Second would go to the Lodge CS grill pan.  
http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-CRSGP12-Pre-Seasoned-Grilling-12-inch/dp/B00J9QVQ7C

They require some basic fire knowledge, maintenance, and are not for everyone.  Like, when you drop CI into a blazing hot fire, it will rust. lol  

The biggest advantage IMO is fire control, reducing flareups, and leveling the uneven lump burn in the egg.  The 16lb Mangrates hold a ton of energy, perfect for searing post sous vide.  That mass pushes the flareups around the CI.  The grease grooves(similar in concept to Weber's flavorizer bars), help here as well.

I can move both the Mangrates and Lodge CS grill pan from egg, to OTG, to Jumbo Joe, to campfire elevated on bricks.  Steak, chicken, pork, burgers....they're not a one trick pony.

The aesthetics aren't bad.  Kind of lets your guests feel like he knows WTF he's doing.  Not necesssary, but doesn't hurt.    

Despite the ineggsperienced haters, it does enhance your grill.  I'm glad I picked both the Mangrates and Lodge CS for over 50% off. 

bettysnephew

I do like to use the CI grate raised direct, flat side up for smoked meatloaf. Allows good circulation of heat and smoke and the loaf doesn't fall between the wires of the SS grate. It's also OK to sear steaks cooked reverse sear. Put the CI under the plate setter and allow it to preheat while doing the indirect cook of the steak. Stole this great idea from someone on this forum a few years back. Many thanks to whomever it was. I kind of recall @Skiddymarker but may be wrong.

ERC393

Thanks for all the great feedback. I do still wonder, though, why the BGE cookbook (the big hard-covered $50 job) calls for either a CI or porcelain grate on every recipe where meat or veggies come into contact with a grate?  I can't see where it makes much of a difference, so are they just trying to sell more hardware?

Eggaroo

Yes. 

Focker

CI is an upsell/upgrade.  You can see recent posts where the weak and uneven SS/porcelain sear is clearly visible. 

Note the classic hotspot and uneven direct cooking here while the dingus says he loves the even cooking of the egg(skip to 5 min mark).....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjNzBj_HMN8

Frozen patties on the gasser with smoker box and CI........
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wkg_5CClJ4

CI on the Weber gasser...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWOLv2ZS078


"Sometimes, when I get offa work, and I just, see ya sittin' there, I just get so overwhelmed, I just, I just"....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg7p_ESWd2I

CI Mangrates


Frozen patties CS, on my pops' Weber gasser with a flared up side-by-side.


Most recent, Blackstone CS deerburgers


Griswold CI griddle 

Weaker SS grid sear

CI


Also caveman'd(pics on friend's phone), too burnt/acrid for my liking.  Fun to do on occasion though.  

But for the egg, I prefer the grid(CI), and fire.
 
CI pan/griddle looses the fire-grilled flavor.  Would much rather have that, than a perfect Ruths Chris sear.  You might as well toss the griddle or pan on the stovetop or in the broiler, save your lump. 

All personal preference, but FWIW, the unseared "gray" portion does not lack grilled flavor.  

Hope these quick videos(minus the last one) and pics, show you the differences in performance. 

Try them all bud, see where you stand.